Job 38:28

Job 38:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
• New International Version (NIV)Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

Context of Job 38:28

26To bring rain on the uninhabited land, And on the desert where no man lives, 27To satisfy the barren and desolate ground And to make the seeds of grass to sprout? Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29Out of whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? 30Water becomes like stone [and hides itself], And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.

Job 38:28 word by word

הֲיֵשׁ־לַמָּטָ֥ר אָ֑ב א֥וֹ מִי־ה֝וֹלִ֗יד אֶגְלֵי־טָֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Hathיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• the rainמָטַרmâţâr · rainH4306
• a fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• or who hath begottenיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• the dropsאֵ֫גֶל'egel · dropH96
• of dewטַלţal · dewH2919

Cross-references for Job 38:28

• Job 38:8“Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it burst forth and went out of the womb;
• Job 5:9Who does great and unsearchable things, Marvelous things without number.
• 1 Samuel 12:17Is it not [the beginning of the] wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord and He will send thunder and rain; then you will know [without any doubt], and see that your evil which you have done is great in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.”
• Psalms 65:9You visit the earth and make it overflow [with water]; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You provide their grain, when You have prepared the earth.
• Jeremiah 5:24They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear and worship the Lord our God [with profound awe and reverence], Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
• Jeremiah 10:13When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds and the mist to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His treasuries and from His storehouses.
• Jeremiah 14:22Are there any among the idols of the nations who can send rain? Or can the heavens [of their own will] give showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait and hope [confidently] in You, For You are the one who has made all these things [the heavens and the rain].
• Joel 2:23So rejoice, O children of Zion, And delight in the Lord, your God; For He has given you the early [autumn] rain in vindication And He has poured down the rain for you, The early [autumn] rain and the late [spring] rain, as before.
• Amos 4:7“Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you When there were still three months until the harvest. Then I would send rain on one city, And on another city I would not send rain; One piece of ground was rained on, While the part not rained on would dry up.
• Matthew 5:45so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].
• Job 29:19My root is spread out and open to the waters, And the dew lies all night upon my branch.
• Genesis 27:28Now may God give you of the dew of heaven [to water your land], And of the fatness (fertility) of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine;
• Deuteronomy 33:13And of Joseph he said, “Blessed by the Lord be his land, With the precious things of heaven, with the dew, And from the deep water that lies beneath,
• 2 Samuel 1:21O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be upon you, nor fields with offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, [dry, cracked] not anointed with oil.
• 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
• Proverbs 3:20By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the clouds drip with dew.

Commentaries on Job 38:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Hath the rain a father? - Or, Who is the father of the rain? We have seen above one part of the apparatus by which God produces it; other causes have been mentioned on Job 36:27, etc. The drops of dew? - אגלי egley, the sphericles, the small round drops or globules. Dew is a dense moist vapor, found on the earth in spring and summer mornings, in the form of a mizzling rain. Dr. Hutton defines it, "a thin, light, insensible mist or rain, descending with a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28Hath the rain a father? - That is, it is produced by God and not by man. No one among men can claim that he causes it, or can regard it as his offspring. The idea is, that the production of rain is among the proofs of the wisdom and agency of God, and that it is caused in a way that demonstrates his own agency. It is not by any power of man; and it is not in such a way as to constitute a relation like that between a father and a son. The rain is often…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-41Verses 25-41 Hitherto God had put questions to Job to show him his ignorance; now God shows his weakness. As it is but little that he knows, he ought not to arraign the Divine counsels; it is but little he can do, therefore he ought not to oppose the ways of Providence. See the all-sufficiency of the Divine Providence; it has wherewithal to satisfy the desire of every living thing. And he that takes care of the young ravens, certainly will not be wanting…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-41God challenges Job. Job admits he cannot judge the moral world. God shows Job's ignorance of the natural world's elements related to the realm of heaven, weather, animals, and birds (38:4–21; 22–38; 39–39:30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-3819-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 38:28

• Blessing
• God
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena

In the dictionaries

• Bar
• Consume
• Covert
• Dark
• Father
• Hitherto
• Loose
• Reserve
• Satisfy
• Spring

Commentaries on Job 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings